Trace Adkins, the country singer, was on the Glenn Beck show today and he gets it. Beck was sharing his story about taking his daughter to a gun store and being surprised with the throngs of shoppers stocking up on guns and ammo. This is a phenomenon repeating itself across the country. People feel there is something out of step with the growth of government and natural instincts are kicking in. by Gary Wood
(conservative)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The 2nd Amendment is not about hunting and the type of guns that should or should not be allowed to be carried by hunters. As Beck pointed out, the founders did not sit around and decide to put in this critical amendment to keep the hunters happy. Adkins did not hesitate to say it was to protect against government tyranny.
It's not a long amendment so lets break it down in the language of the day. "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Key words are linked to the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. (Get in the habit of studying with this dictionary and you will gain better insight into the intent of the founders.)
The militia are not regular military but instead are citizens free to pursue their usual occupations yet when called upon for defense they gather their arms and answer the call. Pay attention to the fact the founders were referring to the militia of a country. Those who insisted this be an amendment to the Constitution understood a state to be, as the 1828 dictionary and other historical documents of the day support, an independent nation. The 2nd Amendment was in place to remind the newly formed federal or general government each state's citizenry would be armed and ready to defend themselves should the need arise. The United States was a plural term, one nation was not formed.
If the founders had no concern the federal government could grow tyrannical there would have been no reason for them to put in the 2nd Amendment as part of the contract being formed between the sovereign states and the newly formed, limited federal government. Tyranny was a major concern since the founders knew the habit of man was a habit of seeking power and authority over their fellow man. The rights of citizens of a nation to keep and bear arms was necessary!
This is only one example of the many ways our Constitution was crafted to protect the people from an out of control government should it attempt to break the chains of the Constitution. It was, as a whole, developed so the people could control government, not the other way around. Armed militia, citizens of a country, were to defend against tyranny.
There is no doubt how serious our founding fathers were about this line of armed defense. The last four words shout their seriousness. They did not say may or should not be infringed. The declaration that it shall not be is absolute. Infringed meant the right was never to be broken, violated, or transgressed. It does not matter what precedent has been established by any court since the time this amendment was ratified. Any ruling that breaks, violates, or transgresses this right is unconstitutional and citizens of a nation have a right to keep and bear arms. Why is something so simple so hard to understand?
Because many of our political critters and special interest groups want it to be. Don't get fooled by their rhetoric. Just study our history and our founding documents word by word for the true intent and arm yourself with knowledge to defend against their lies and misguided precedent!
Remember our history, not our modern traditions that are moving us toward representative democracy. Here is some recommended reading to help begin the stirring of our memory. Study these with friends and family as if you were studying the scriptures of your religion or the stats of your favorite sports team.
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That with rights come responsibilities is widely if not universally accepted. So what is the responsibility that comes with the right to keep and bear arms? It’s in the opening phrase of the Second Amendment. “Owning guns and complaining to your representatives being sufficient to the security of a free state,…” Right? Well that’s what most gun owners seem to think.
Owning guns is good, but it's not what is necessary to preserve liberty in America. For any who are interested in taking seriously the responsibility that comes with the right to keep and bear arms, I invite you to check out the modern militia at www.awrm.org or at my own website, www.virginiacitizenmilitia.org. We might surprise you, especially if you still believe what the mainstream media and groups like the SPLC say about us.
The American people are right to be worried about their second amendment rights. The Obama administration is loaded with anti-gun extremists. And with the Democrats in control of both houses, our right to keep and bare arms is at great risk. Already the attorney general Eric Holder is talking about renewing the assault weapons ban. Also HR 45 recently introduced in the House would create a massive licensing and registration scheme.
Yes very well said! And not just tyranny from within, but from abroad as well! If China dumped 20 million soldiers on the west coast, do you think our army could fight that on their own? It would take every man who can carry a gun and it is better to have them at home and people trained at least in the basic use of them than to try to hand them out and give that training while the enemy is rampaging through the country.